It shouldn’t have mattered.
‘What were you doing out there?’ he asked, shaking his head. ‘It’s much colder at night at this time of year.’
‘I thought I saw something.’
‘And you decided to investigate?’
Pearl wasn’t sure what to say to that.
‘You’re brave, Pearl.’
‘How so?’
‘No one I know would have done the same. What was it?’
‘What?’
‘What did you see?’
‘It was nothing,’ she said, picturing Syrene in her mind. She didn’t want Ben to go back there looking for anything either. ‘It floated away by the time I got there.’
‘That’s a bummer,’ he said. ‘At least I came across you at the right time.’
‘How did you find me?’
Ben’s hands tightened around the wheel. ‘Today has been a tough day for me. It was nice seeing you at the beach. After I went back to work, I thought about you not having a place to stay. I figured I could be some help. We’re going to my Uncle Greg’s house. He died a few years ago. My dad can’t stand to sell it. I came back to offer it to you, but you weren’t there. I walked the beach until I found you. And here we are.’
If he had been any sooner, he might have seen Syrene.
Now that she was warmer, she realized her predicament. The chilly water had frozen her brain. She’d been at the shore with Ben. How easy it would have been to pretend she was hurt and called him out there. And then returned home on the end of Syrene’s fin. There was no reason for her to come out of the water. She would never admit to letting the humans affect her, but the more time she spent with them, the more she understood the pull to land. This was the most difficult trial of the ceremony, and if she was going to survive, she’d have to overcome it.
Chapter 11
The house of Ben’s uncle was further inland than she hoped. Not far enough to entirely warm herself. After Ben had parked the car, she’d barely stopped shivering. The house was tucked tightly between two others.
The peaks and valleys of the roof shaped the house in a pleasing way. In the darkness, she couldn’t quite tell the color, but it welcomed her just the same.
Once they climbed the wooden steps to the front door, Ben shoved a key in the small lock and pushed through.
‘Come in,’ he said, walking into the darkness.
Pearl hesitated, shifting her weight from foot to foot. The unknown stood before her. She could run away, grab a human, and return to her home that night. But a tugging deep within her latched on to Ben, and she followed him inside.
‘I don’t want to turn on too many lights,’ Ben said ahead of her. ‘It might alert the neighbors. I’m not sure if they’d call my dad or not. Sometimes, living in this place is a little stifling.’
Her eyes adjusted to the darkness. Lines of furniture sharpened, even though they remained mostly in shadow.
‘There’s a small guest room down here.’ The floors creaked under his footfalls, even as he turned into the room.
She followed, a little too quickly, and bumped into him.
‘Sorry,’ he said, amusement touching his voice. ‘There’s a light here.’
The room illuminated, and Pearl stepped back. The space was almost the size of the boat cabin, but this one had a bed, a block of wood with several knobs attached to the front, and a window facing the back of the house.
‘It’s not much,’ he said.
‘Yes, it is.’ Her body yearned to lie down. In all the hunting journeys of her life, she’d never been so tired.
‘Do you want to change first?’ he asked.
‘Yes,’ she said.
He handed her Mrs. Jones’s bag, and their hands brushed.
Pearl drew in a breath, wanting to be closer to him. She wasn’t sure where the sensation came from.
‘Are you hungry?’ Ben said, quickly pulling his hand away.
‘Yes.’ She reached into the bag, grabbing random items of clothing. She stacked them on the bed while Ben watched.
She lifted the sticky, wet layer from her body and Ben made a strange sound.
‘I’ll be in the kitchen when you finish.’
After she removed the shirt, Ben was already gone.
*
With her wet body, her new clothes didn’t go on as smoothly as they had before. But she completed the task as quickly as she could. Her stomach popped and groaned, hungry for food.
She found the kitchen and Ben with his head inside of an appliance almost as tall as him. She recalled Carolina mentioning a refrigerator. This one looked different than hers – a little more compact.
His eyes met hers. ‘Are you warmer now?’
‘Yes, thank you.’
‘My dad doesn’t know I come here often,’ he said. ‘Sometimes, I spend my lunches here when he thinks I’m working.’
‘What do you do for work?’
He reached into the refrigerator, which was mostly empty. When Carolina had opened hers, there was barely space for air with all the food tucked inside. Ben grabbed a bag of bread and a glass container, placing them on the counter. The food inside was a dark color she’d never seen before. ‘I work for my father’s business. He’s in technology. Says it’s the wave of the future.’
‘Earlier, you seem to be hiding from it.’
‘Whatever gave you that impression?’
‘You were at the beach—’
He waved his hands in front of him. ‘That was rhetorical – never mind. While I’m good at it, I’m not sure if I want to follow in his footsteps.’
He grabbed another jar from the cabinet, placing it next to the other. Using a knife, he spread the substances onto the bread before stacking them.
‘Why don’t you want to walk after him?’ she asked.
Ben pulled a face. ‘Even though I went to college, it was always expected I would take over the company. He never gave me a choice. Harry, on the other hand, can do whatever he wants – though he loves the business.’
‘Why doesn’t Harry do your work instead?’
Ben’s lips quirked to the side. ‘I’ve tried to have that discussion with my father. He wants me to head the company. If Harry wants to work with me as his boss, then that’s fine. Dad is old-school that way.’
Pearl curled her lip. Even though she was nothing like these humans, Ben reflected her struggle. He wanted to break out from expectations but couldn’t. Neither could she. She’d be bound to her life forever. Compared to humans, her life would extend much longer. Their fates were unbalanced but similar. She wasn’t sure why she sought comparisons with the humans. She needed to take one of them. Separating was the only way to finish her ceremony.
Ben handed one of the stacks to her.
Pearl eyed it, poking at the bread.
‘You’ve never had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich before?’
‘No.’
‘You’re in for an experience.’ He smirked before biting into his. A blob of the contents dropped to the counter.
Pearl took a small bite, savoring the strange taste.
‘It’s, like, the only thing I can make,’ Ben admitted.
‘It’s delicious,’ she said after getting used to the texture. Softer foods didn’t exist in her world. Everything needed the strength of her teeth to rip through it.
‘You don’t have to say that. It’s not that difficult to make.’
She tilted her head to the side.
‘Anyway,’ he said, taking two more bites to finish his meal. ‘Tell me more about you. Are you here for the Harvest Festival?’
Pearl made a non-committal sound, unable to look into his eyes.
‘Usually the event brings in locals from the area. You happened to be here at the right time.’
Silence stretched between them.
‘Harry said you lived near the water at home?’
‘Yes.’
‘That’s cool. I’ve never been far from here.’
<
br /> ‘I don’t like to travel,’ she said.
‘Me neither. Airplanes freak me out. But it seems like you got over it.’
‘I want to go back soon.’
‘Is there anything you want to do while you’re here?’
‘I need to find someone. To bring home with me.’
Ben cleared his throat. ‘Oh.’
From his expression, she knew she’d shared too much. Sharp pricks, like the first sting of a spiny fish pinched her skin. ‘I’m tired.’
‘Right,’ he said. ‘I’ll leave. Will you be here in the morning? I mean, I don’t want to assume you will stick around, but we’re having brunch tomorrow and … I … It would be cool for you to come. You could get to know some people in town before you leave. At least it will make the Harvest Festival a little more fun.’
Pearl had no idea what brunch was, but she wanted to see Ben again. No matter how hard her mind protested it.
‘Yes,’ she said.
A smile crossed his lips, and a pulse of energy surged through her.
‘I’ll pick you up around ten?’
She nodded.
Ben finished cleaning up and showed her into what he called the living room. ‘There’s no cable here, but we have games and books on the bookshelf. I hope you won’t get too bored.’ He hovered in the doorway and Pearl stared up at him.
‘I’ll see you tomorrow, then,’ he said.
‘At ten,’ she said.
The door started to close, but he reached inside. Pearl jumped back but was unable to move quickly enough. His body bumped into her. He reached out to squeeze her arm lightly.
‘Sorry. Make sure you lock the door. We don’t have much of a crime rate, but I don’t want anyone to wander inside.’ He flipped the handle under the circular knob.
‘Okay,’ she said.
‘Night,’ he said and left.
He didn’t come back.
The moment his car drove away, she closed the door and locked it.
With the mention of books, Pearl walked through the living room again, searching for them. She found several with frayed edges and sat on the sofa, opening one at a time. Strange human language filled the pages. A few had illustrations of humans and other unfamiliar land creatures. With the discovery of the drawings, she went in search for more. It wasn’t too long before she found one of them with a whale on the cover.
She stared at the pages, tracing her fingers over the words as if she could absorb the story of the ocean – her home.
With the book held closely against her chest, she wandered to the guest room Ben had given to her and sat on the bed. It was much more comfortable than the boat. She lay on her side, flipping the pages of the book, searching for any sight of her kind. Or at least the opportunity to ease the ache in her chest.
Chapter 12
The next morning, Pearl woke with the sun shining through the window. Her body wasn’t as stiff as it had been the day before. With the ticking clock next on the wooden table, she tried to figure out how much time had passed. The symbols were strange, and she was unable to decipher them. Ben would return to the house at some point, and she wanted to be ready. Carolina’s clothes lay on the edge of the bed. Instead of putting them on, she went in search for more.
It was easier to navigate the house with the sky light reaching in through the windows. The colors of the walls and furniture were shades of brown, and a layer of gray covered most surfaces.
The nearness of the rooms and more closed-in spaces reminded her of the cove. The open water was her escape, but she always felt the most comfortable with Syrene in their smaller, hidden home.
On the upper level, she found the bathroom. After moving the handle attached to the wall, she made the water come out as it had at Carolina’s home. She didn’t stay in the shower long, as the warmth from the water didn’t last. It was enough to make her body stronger and more aware of her surroundings.
With a towel wrapped around her damp body, she walked through the other two bedrooms. If she had supplies, she wouldn’t have to rely on the humans. Pearl picked through the small alcove in one of the bedrooms, that held what appeared to be hanging female clothing. It took her some time to find items that fit her. She tried different combinations of pants and shirts. These were bigger on her and the fabrics scratched against her skin. They were much different than the softer materials of Carolina’s clothing, but she was warm. Pearl wanted nothing to do with Carolina again unless they were at the bottom of the ocean together.
After she was clothed, she went into the kitchen and made herself the peanut butter and jelly sandwich Ben had introduced to her the night before. It took a little while to get used to the knife, but she succeeded. As she waited for Ben to return, she wandered through the living room. Even though Ben’s Uncle Greg had passed, everything was as in place as it had been at Mrs. Jones and Carolina’s homes. Ben seemed confused as to why his father would keep the house the way it was. Pearl wondered about it too. When one of the troop’s lives faded away, there was nothing left but memories. They had no use for anything else.
The front door opened, and Pearl whipped around.
Ben stood there in a white T-shirt with a few buttons at the front. His pale brown pants had one long crease down the middle. His hair no longer flopped over his forehead. It didn’t move at all as he neared her. ‘Hope I didn’t scare you.’
Pearl shook her head, rustling her hair. After her shower, she had released her hair from the braid Carolina gave her. She had found a tool in the cabinet to smooth through the strands – similar to the one Carolina used before the female had twisted Pearl’s hair into a braid.
‘You look different. I didn’t realize how long your hair was.’ He stood next to her at the bookshelf. ‘Did you read any of these last night?’
She held up the one with the drawings she liked.
He smoothed his hand over the cover ‘Moby Dick. I read this once before. It’s a tough one.’
‘I like these,’ she said, opening a page to an illustration.
Ben laughed. ‘Me too. I used to trace the drawings out of this book when I was younger.’
‘Do you draw still?’
‘No more than doodles during company meetings,’ he said with a sad smile. ‘We should go. My mom expects everyone to be on time.’
‘Who is everyone?’ Pearl asked.
‘Me and my brother. Carolina might come. Harry said you two got along okay yesterday?’
‘For some time.’
He laughed. ‘If Carolina didn’t drive you out of town, there’s a good chance my parents won’t either.’
‘Are they unkind?’
‘That’s not exactly the word I’d use.’
*
When they reached the house, Pearl leaned forward in her seat. Ben’s parents’ home had a stunning view of the ocean. She had the urge to leap out of the car before it stopped. Carolina’s home had been near the water, but Ben’s parents’ house was almost on top of it. The view of the ocean was unlike anything she’d ever seen from a human dwelling before. There weren’t any fences, giving an unobstructed view of Pearl’s home. Her chest squeezed as she imagined how close Ben had been to her his whole life.
‘This is beautiful.’
‘It is a big house.’
‘Not the house,’ she said. ‘Out there.’
One of his thick eyebrows lifted. ‘The view?’
‘The view,’ she repeated.
‘It’s the only thing I like about this place. Everyone seems to focus on the house.’
Pearl slowly shook her head. ‘You’ve been here this whole time.’
‘I have an apartment in town.’ He tilted his head to the side, watching her. His finger trailed down her hand to get her attention. ‘Come on.’
A thrumming sensation pounded against her chest. Pearl wanted to believe it was from being so close to her home, but she had an idea Ben’s touch had something to do with it.
They walked together, and P
earl couldn’t take her eyes away from the water. With each break of the waves, she searched for Syrene. The rules of the troop were sacred, and she hoped her sister wouldn’t come back to the shore. Though, secretly, Pearl wished she could see Syrene again. In their time apart, she missed her more than she ever had before. Somehow, the bond between them seemed to have strengthened.
‘My parents can be a little overbearing, but they mean well. Sometimes.’ He laughed, a sound like the bark of a sea lion.
If brunch involved food, Pearl didn’t mind more questions. Meeting new humans had given her a little perspective on how she should answer them. Carolina’s probing had been overwhelming, but at least a story had formed in her mind about what she needed to tell the humans about her life.
Inside, Ben led her through a stark white room. The hard floors resembled the patterns she’d seen on shells. Curvy lines of color weaved through the stone. A staircase coiled up the side of one wall with golden railings.
As they walked into another room, the scent of food flooded her nose. Several pairs of eyes turned their way as Pearl focused on the long table in the center of the room. It had many chairs on either side. Ben had told her his mother had only invited the family and Carolina. It appeared as if there were about to be more. The thought of that many humans in one room and close to the ocean caused a lightness to spread throughout her body. If she brought one of them to the water, her home wasn’t that far away.
Among the new humans, she only recognized Harry. When he saw her, his shoulders visibly relaxed. Two older humans stood next to him. Pearl guessed they were Ben and Harry’s parents. Harry resembled the male; they had the same hair color, and the shape of their faces was similar. Ben favored his mother. They were both slim, but tall. The female smiled, yet her eyes narrowed as if Pearl had somehow threatened her family.
‘Everyone, this is Pearl,’ Ben said.
His parents glanced at each other before walking over to her. Ben’s father was first. His shoulders were back as if he were presenting himself to her. She’d seen that posture many times among the males in her troop.
‘It’s a pleasure to see a new face in this town,’ Ben’s father said, reaching his hand out to Pearl. ‘I’m Peter, and this is my wife, Elyse.’
The Sisters' Secrets: Pearl Page 7
